People screaming. Frantic footsteps running up and down the street. Little children running to their homes, parents, or buildings. Police officers throwing up, near the back of their police cars. While I looked down, remains of my body lying over the street.

I looked to my left and saw my killer, running away from the scene, crazed delight all over his scared face. Then I heard a familiar voice crying out in horror. I turned my head and saw my parents, sobbing over my dead remains. I walked over to my parents and put a hand on my mom’s shoulder, but my hand went right through her. That’s when I knew that this wasn’t a dream, it was real, it was a nightmare.

Once I realized this, a black portal appeared in front of me. I looked at it with curiosity. Then without warning a huge black figure stepped out of the portal and looked straight at me. I panicked and tried to turn around but I tripped over my shoes and landed on my butt. I tried to put some distance between me and the hooded black figure, until he raised his hand and paralyzed me to the spot.

My body was shaken from fear. Heart racing, sweat running down my body, breathing raggedly I looked at the figure in the eyes and screamed. The face was mostly skeletal except with a few rotten flesh still hanging about. Instead of eyes there was just fire, and he has horns on his head as well.

Still pointing at me, he uncurled his left hand and a scythe about ten feet long appeared. He grabbed the scythe and raised the scythe slowly, savoring the kill he’s about to make. Fear turned to terror as he slowly draws out the kill. As I prepared for my death… then something hit me. “Wait a minute,” I cried out, “how can you kill me when I’m already dead?!”

Time stopped. The cars that was chasing my killer froze, the little children were in a between state, and my parents tears just hang there. I found that I can move again and stood up and prepared to run, when I noticed that the figure was also trapped. I took a cautious step towards him, when his body began to crack. Then more cracks appeared and soon his body explodes.

I ducked and found out that I didn’t need to. Where the figure last stood, was a beautiful, sweet woman. There was a blue aura surrounding her whole body, and was wearing, what probably was an 18th century dress. And when she spoke my last remaining fears melted away, “Congratulations Mr. Yates, you have passed the first few tests. I’m very impressed that someone as young as you can pass these tests.”

“Why,” I asked, “are you surprised that I pass them. I mean what happens when you die?”

She looks at me like I’m stupid, and points to her right. I look over and was shock. There were people dressed in army figures but not from this time period. Those look like they were from the civil war. There people wearing dresses that was from the Victorian age. Different styles from all walks of life. They were roaming around the city like they were trying to find a purpose of walking. “Can’t they see us?” I asked.

“No,” she responded, “they are the people who haven’t realized that they are dead. I don’t know why they don’t accept that they are dead, but those are the minority.”

“So,” I pondered, “is there a heaven and hell.”

She hesitated before she answered. “There are only three places where people can go to once they died. But people must know that they are dead to enter these places. If not then they will wonder around this earth for as long as they don’t think they are dead.”

I look at the people, ignorant of themselves and their surroundings. “It’s sad,” I said after a long pause.

She looks at me with a puzzled face and asked, “Why do you think it’s sad?”

“Because they will never see their family in the afterlife or experience anything new ever again.”

“Once again Mr. Yates, you surprise me. You speak like someone who has lived a long and fulfilled life.”

I shrugged the compliment away and look at her. “So what happens now?”

A black portal appeared in front of us and said, “Come, another person realized that they are dead.”

With that statement we entered the black portal and reappeared in front of Madison Square Garden. I look at the woman and realized that she has transform back into her Grim Reaper form. I looked and saw a man probably ten years older than me and was frightened when he saw her. The man was yelling for help but realized that no one was hearing him. As she swung her scythe he screamed out somebody’s name and what I saw blew me away.

Instead of being cut in half, I saw some kind of spirit coming out of his body and a coffin appeared behind this spirit and enclosed on him. Chains came out of the ground and wrapped itself around the coffin and dragged it under the ground.

After I got my wits back I asked, “What the hell was that?”

“That Mr. Yates,” returning herself to a woman, “was where a person soul goes to when they “die” a second time.”

“People have souls?” I questioned.

“Yes. When they die a second time their souls are enclosed to a coffin and have to relive all of their past. Most go mad from that experience but there are a select few who survive that torment and once I decided that they had enough, I release them.”

“Release them where?”

Ignoring my question she said, “Come we have dawdled enough, it’s time for your final test.”

She raised her hand, the portal appeared, and on we went.



Once I step out of the portal, we entered a dark room where the only source of light is what looks like a scale. Once there, the woman took hold of the scale and stood in front of me. I had a better view of the scale and saw that there were two bowls suspended in midair. A feather magically appeared on one of the bowls and stated, “This is your final test Mr. Yates you must answer this one question and we will see where you will go for the rest of time. The question is this, will you kill a person in order to get what you want?”

The question took me by surprise, and I took a step back. As soon as I did that the empty bowl began to sink down, like something was weighing it down. As if reading my mind she said, “The empty bowl represents you conscious. Even if you lied to me the Almout will know what you truly want to do.” She looks at me with sad eyes and softly said, “I had hope that you will reach what you call heaven but I’m afraid that you must be sent to the underworld where all people will suffer pain for all of eternity.”

A piece of the floor was split into two and fire erupted from the hole. Screams of torment, agony, and all kinds of sound was heard. Then a pair of hands came after me and I shouted, “I haven’t given you my answer yet!”

The hands stopped just inches from my face. Breathing heavily, I look at the women and said, “That Almout thing is right, I would kill somebody to get what I want,” the hands creep up closer and said quickly, “but I would only do it for my family!”

The hands disappeared in a flash of smoke. I look at the woman and continued, “I would do it for my family if they desperately needed it and kill if that person is a heartless beast.”

The scale with the feather and my conscious began to even out and soon was exactly even. The doorway to hell closed and the woman was beyond surprise, she was shock. “N-no one has e-ever had this kind of balance,” she stammered.

She looks at me then laughed. Her laugh was so happy and cheery that I was also laughing, although I don’t know why. Once we regain control of ourselves, she states, “Well Mr. Yates you have surprised me throughout the time we spend together. So with what just happen looks like I get to decide where you go.”

She smiled at me and said, “I will let you go on into what you call heaven.” She snapped her fingers and a shining light appeared and I was floating up into the sky. I look down and her and thought I never found out what her name was. So I look down and shouted, “What’s your name?!”

Surprise was on her face and shook her head. “You are full of surprises Mr. Yates. This is the first time anyone has ever asked that. I have two names. One is what your people call,” she turned back into the cloak man, “the Grim Reaper. The second and my true name is,” she turned back into the sweet beautiful blue lady, “The Angel of Death.”

With that last statement she disappeared. “Good-bye,” I said softly. Then a blast of light hit my face and saw the roof opening up. I entered heaven, with an exciting energy and ready for any adventures it holds.